Austria has apparently stepped back from the brink of being the first European Union country to elect a far-Right head of state on Monday, electing a 72-year-old Green candidate to the country's presidency in a surprise move that will be welcomed by Europe's political establishment.

He won by the narrowest of margins, just 31,000 votes. The official results gave him 50.3 per cent, ahead of Norbert Hofer, the far-Right Freedom Party (FPÖ) candidate, on 49.7 per cent.

The final result was not clear until late on Monday afternoon, a full day after voting ended, and came down to postal votes.

Mr Hofer came within an ace of victory, with 49.9 per cent. He later conceded defeat in a statement posted on to his Facebook page.

"Dear friends, thank you for your great support," he wrote.

"Of course I'm sad today . I would like to have looked after you as President of our wonderful country .

"I will remain loyal to you and make my contribution to a positive future in Austria .

"Please do not be discouraged This election campaign is not lost but is an investment in the future . Yours, Norbert Hofer."

Mr Hofer's failure to become the EU's first far-Right head of state will be a blow to Europe's burgeoning populist movements, including France's National Front and Germany's Alternative for Deutschland (Afd) who had hoped that a Hofer victory would provide the catalyst for continent-wide electoral gains.

It will also come as a huge relief in Brussels and among Europe's establishment parties who have been under assault in recent years from populist movements angry over uncontrolled immigration and economic austerity and had warned that a Hofer victory would "change the character" of Europe.

Among them was Manuel Valls, who expressed his "relief" at learning Mr Hofer had failed to win the election.

"Relief to see the Austrians reject populism and extremism," the French prime minister wrote on Twitter, "everyone in Europe should learn from this."

“I am pleased that you are a convinced European and will act in your new role for a strong and reliable European Union,” Joachim Gauck, the German president, told the victorious Mr van der Bellen in a message of congratulation.

Romano Prodi, a former president of the European Commission, said he was “very satisfied” with the result.

And Chief Rabbi Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, said: “We would like to congratulate Mr Van der Bellen on his victory in the Austrian presidential election.

But Christian Kern, the Austrian chancellor, struck a sombre note, saying it was important that no one felt they had voted in vain.

“We have understood the protest,” Mr Kern told those who voted for Mr Hofer.

"This is a clear sign that Europe is beginning to realise that hate and fear politics are not the answer to the many challenges we are facing as a continent.

"As we approach our Standing Committee meeting in Vienna, I look forward to meeting the new president and working with him to help the Jewish community.”

News of Mr Hofer's defeat received a predictably muted reaction in his home town of Pinkafeld, a picture-postcard small town an hour's drive south of Vienna.

"I'm disappointed. When I saw the result on the TV I switched it off, I couldn't watch," said 74-year-old Irene Schutter, a retired school cleaner drinking coffee in the town's market square.

She took some comfort from the fact that almost 50 per cent of Austrians had voted for Mr Hofer, whose campaign up-ended Austria's two establishment parties which have controlled Austrian politics since the Second World War.

"It was only a question of time," she added, "people are ready for a change."

Preliminary results on Sunday had put Mr Hofer in the lead, but it appears Van der Bellen managed to surge ahead in the final stages of the race.

"Very few people thought I could catch up," he said after hearing the results.

"But in the last 14 days, there has been such a momentum among voters - musicians, actors, workers, totally different people across all generations, professions and all sections of society."